


Late

by quantumoddity



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Comfort, Established Relationship, M/M, Sexting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:27:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22128697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quantumoddity/pseuds/quantumoddity
Summary: Shaun has a bad start to his day
Relationships: Shaun Gilmore/Vax'ildan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 104





	Late

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alittlebitoftheuniverse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alittlebitoftheuniverse/gifts).



Shaun Gilmore was never late. 

He was a hard worker, though few people thought it when they looked at him. He stayed late, he took on more than he could handle with the confidence that, by the end, he would be able to. He spoke the right way to the right people, he spotted patterns where other people missed them, he gave everything he had to give. It was how he was raised and it was also how he had built his store from nothing to a city recognised name. Shaun Gilmore wasn’t afraid of graft. And he was never late. 

Maybe that’s why his knees ached so much, he thought with some bitterness, as he headed down the subway steps, the sun above him disappearing as he slipped below ground, just one of many in a bobbing sea of commuters. Getting the train to the store every day was a chore, one he’d borne silently because it had been a very small price to pay to move in with Vax’ildan. But on days like this, when the rain was coming down in sheets that seemed to have no end and everything seemed made of just the same palette of slate greys, it got hard to remember that. 

Shaun shook out his hair, feeling some of the raindrops slip under his shirt, sighing sharply in annoyance. It took a second to curl his fingers just so and prestidigitate them away but still. It was a pain. 

He peered up at the large board of departures, that small, annoying voice in his head reminding him that he really did need glasses. Ah. A fault on the only line that took him exactly in the direction he needed to go. Delays of up to ten minutes. 

He took a moment to press his fingertips to his temples, the stern, level voice of his mother reminding him to accept what he could not change. But he had never been very good at that. He was much more inclined to sulk and frown and let his mood sink even deeper into misery. 

Frowning, Shaun made his way to the platform so at least he’d be in the right place and sank down on a chilly metal bench. As the seconds went by, as more wet and bedraggled and silently fuming people appeared in the space around him, he become more sorely tempted just to teleport to work. Even if it would leave him feeling washed out for the rest of the day and put him at risk of a migraine. Which he would probably force himself to work through anyway.

Shaun stifled an audible groan and tipped his head back. He was never late. Because this was how the risk of it made him feel. Sick and anxious and angry at everything. 

Himself most of all. Like the fact that he was late meant he’d let the world down, like maybe that little voice was right and he didn’t deserve everything he’d earned.

Feeling that pull in the corners of his mouth like he wasn’t ever going to smile again, Shaun rescued his phone from the deep, waterlogged pockets of his bright purple raincoat, the one he hated because why would any self respecting country have the sort of weather that required such an unflattering garment. He would have to call Sherri and ask her to open up, she had keys. 

Though the first thing he saw on the screen wasn’t just a blaring clock face reminding him how late he was going to be. It was a message. From Vax’ildan. Two actually, one with a picture attachment it wasn’t showing him just yet. He read the text first, thinking that was the more sensible approach. 

_ Seemed like you were having a bad morning. Thought this might cheer you up. VERY NSFW so don’t have to open if you don’t feel like it xxxxx _

And Shaun knew he meant it. And that gave him enough of a spark in his chest, enough of a light in his grey day to open the image. 

Vax’ildan, kneeling on their shared bed, the photo a reflection in their mirror. He was wearing Shaun’s favourite robe, his deep violet silk one with the gold edgings. And underneath, nothing at all, nothing but his own skin. The robe was resting on him to deliberately cover absolutely nothing, just to frame. Shaun could run his eyes over his too thin chest, the one he was trying to slowly fill out with his mother’s best recipes, the twin surgical scars, so neat they were almost invisible. The line of delicate black hair that began around his navel and ran downwards, down to frame his lower lips that, in the image, were being opened by the hand not holding the phone, one finger sunk lightly into himself, everything perfectly pink and shining in a way that made the muscles between Shaun’s legs tug pleasantly.

Playful and teasing and bright, so deeply beautiful in a way he clearly didn’t realise. And suddenly there was nowhere Shaun wanted to be more than in his arms. 

He did call Sherri, only to tell her that they would open that afternoon and to go back to bed. She sounded pleased but a little shell-shocked and Shaun could hardly blame her. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d allowed them a half day. 

Maybe because there had never been anything better in his life than work. But now, as Shaun left the platform and rose back up into the rain with a smile on his face, he realised he had everything he could want. Everything he’d worked so hard for, he had it and he deserved it. So he was going to enjoy it. 

Shaun Gilmore was never late. But he was learning. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is an anniversary present for my girlfriend and best friend, thought I'd post it here as well. Leave a comment if you like it!


End file.
